Hydrangea Cupcakes Recipe

Big thank you to Sub-Zero and Wolf for sponsoring this recipe. Each of these hydrangea cupcakes is unique and beautiful, just like you. Did you know that March is Women’s History Month?

That’s why this post is dedicated to all of you moms, wives, sisters, daughters, and girlfriends–you’re awesome. I’ll take any excuse to celebrate, especially when I’m celebrating YOU. I hope you have a sweet and super blessed day. P.S. Make sure to enter the great giveaway at the end of this post!

Can I tell you a story? I worked as a realtor for 4 years while I was getting my first degree in business (what haven’t I tried?). Can’t imagine me as a realtor? Yeah… I’m much better at making food ;). Anyway, on the days my hubby wasn’t working, we toured gorgeous homes (our idea of fun).

I’ve seen hundreds of incredible homes and you know what they all seem to have in common? A quality range–a Wolf range. I’m pretty sure I touched every single one of them. They are hard to resist. Some people are obsessed with socks, but ranges really do it for me.

Quality equipment, like Wolf, matters in delivering the performance that you need for achieving delicious dishes. I don’t own a Wolf range yet, but I will and when I do, I’ll share a picture of myself hugging it on Instagram and tell you all about it.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

Now, I’ve always said, “If you can read, (a well-written, well-photographed, tested recipe) you can cook!” So let’s talk about what you’ll need to be successful with this recipe.

#1: a great cupcake base. I love the contrast of the chocolate cupcake and it kind of looks like the dirt in a flower pot ;). This chocolate cake base is a tried and true recipe that I’ve used before for my chocolate cupcakes with prague frosting (originally adapted from Simply Recipes). Why re-invent the wheel, right?

#2: a frosting that is color friendly. i.e. something that will still keep it’s form when food coloring is added. This frosting is just right and holds up beautifully. It also keeps its form once it’s piped onto the cupcakes.

#3: The right cooking tools: Gel food colors, a Wilton 2D tip (a large, drop flower decorating tip) and piping bags (preferably one-time use bags to save washing time if you want to use different colors).

#4: A reliable range. For the recipes I post, I generally use the regular baking setting (since not everyone has convection), but when I’m in a pickle (and I love pickles, but not this kind!), I turn to my convection setting. Wolf offers dual convection – two fans and four heating elements producing a more uniform heating than most ovens with a single convection fan.

You’ll have greater consistency with food (no more browning on one side or half-cooked cupcakes!) and you can put foods on multiple racks with perfect results. Imagine: multiple racks of cookies perfectly browned, without even rotating the trays.

Click here to learn more about the Wolf range’s features (prepare to be dazzled). I like that Wolf knows moms put great care into the food they provide their families, and they make appliances that help us all do just that. I served these cupcakes to all the women in my family – after my husband and son took their 10% cut. I guess they’re entitled ;). On to the recipe!

4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until they come together. Your batter will still be a little lumpy.

5. Use an ice cream scoop to pour your batter into the lined cupcake pan. They should be about 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes on the center rack or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.

Making Hydrangea Cupcakes Frosting:

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the 1 stick of softened butter with 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and salt on low speed or until combined, scraping as necessary ~ 1 min.

Don’t start on high speed or you will be surrounded in a cloud of powdered sugar (lessons learned). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy (2-3 min).

2. Add cream cheese 1-piece at a time and mix until combined. (I waited maybe 3 seconds in between each piece; just one after another). Once all of the cream cheese is incorporated, continue to beat 1 more minute until fluffy, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

You need your frosting to be super smooth without any globs of cream cheese or they will get stuck in the piping star, so if you see globs, keep mixing.

3. Separate frosting into as many bowls as you want different colors. I had ramekins for: white, pink, light blue, lavender and green). If you don’t like food coloring or just don’t have any, feel free to make beautiful pure white hydrangeas.

How to Make a Hydrangea Frosting Flowers:

1. Start with placing a Wilton 2D tip into a piping bag. Place the prepared bag into a tall glass and fold the bag over the glass. Blend food coloring into the frosting to get your desired colors. For purple, I used 2 parts red and 1 part blue, for blue I used 3 parts blue and 1 part red to tone it down a little.

2. Add one color on the left side of the bag and a second color on the right side of the bag.

3. Pipe a little into a plate until you see both colors coming through. Start by piping the border of the cupcake and work your way in.

Place the tip right over the cupcake, pull directly away from the cupcake about 1/3″ and release creating a petal-like design. Work all the way around keeping the petals close together so you don’t see the cupcake through the flowers.

Tip for success:

Your hands will cause the frosting to warm up as you pipe, so try not to handle it too much between cupcakes. If the petals start to soften and aren’t holding their form, place the piping bag into the fridge to firm up for 5 minutes or so, then continue.

P.S. If you are doing a variety of colors, disposable frosting bags would be a good idea. It was a little tedious to wash it over and over… and over. But you must know, I did it for you! Happy Women’s History Month! I’d pass one of these to you if I could.

Easy and Delicious Hydrangea Cupcakes

4.78 from 70 votes

Prep Time:30minutes

Cook Time:20minutes

Total Time:50minutes

The chocolate cupcakes don't have eggs or butter but still have that craving inducing richness. They're wonderful. The cream cheese frosting is perfect for coloring and piping making it the ideal hydrangea cupcake combo!

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until they come together. Your batter will still be a little lumpy.

Use an ice cream scoop to pour your batter into the lined cupcake pan; They should be about 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes on the center rack or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.

Making the Frosting:

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the 1 stick of softened butter with 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and salt on low speed or until combined, scraping as necessary ~ 1 min. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy (2-3 min).

Add cream cheese 1-piece at a time and mix until combined. Once all of the cream cheese is incorporated, continue to beat 1 more minute until fluffy, scraping down the bowl as necessary. You need your frosting to be super smooth without any globs of cream cheese or they will get stuck in the piping star, so if you see globs, keep mixing.

Separate frosting into as many bowls as you want different colors. I had ramekins for: white, pink, light blue, lavender and green. If you don't like food coloring or just don't have any, feel free to make beautiful pure white hydrangeas.

How to Make a Hydrangea Cupcake Topping:

Start with placing a Wilton 2D tip (a large, drop flower decorating tip) into a piping bag. Place the prepared bag into a tall glass and fold the bag over the glass. Blend food coloring into the frosting to get your desired colors. For purple, I used 2 parts red and 1 part blue, for blue I used 3 parts blue and 1 part red to tone it down a little.

Add one color of frosting on the left side of the bag and a second color on the right side of the bag.

Pipe a little into a plate until you see both colors coming through. Start by piping the border of the cupcake and work your way in. Place the tip right over the cupcake, pull directly away from the cupcake about 1/3" and release creating a petal-like design. Work all the way around keeping the petals close together so you don't see the cupcake through the flowers. Your hands will cause the frosting to warm up as you pipe, so try not to handle it too much between cupcakes. If the petals start to soften and aren't holding their form, place the piping bag into the fridge to firm up for 5 minutes or so, then continue.

Recipe Notes

P.S. If you are doing a variety of colors, disposable frosting bags would be a good idea. It was a little tedious to wash it over and over... and over.

natashaskitchen

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

Hi Jami, in theory, it could work but I haven’t tested it to say for sure. I have turned this into a 9″ chocolate cake but have not tried making it into a vanilla cake. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes. Reply

Hi Natasha
Can the cupcake recipe be doubled or should I make separate batches of 12 cupcakes? These are a great hit with my daughter’s school as they prefer eggless cakes for their events.
Thanks much
Romanie Reply

natashaskitchen

March 30, 2017

Hi Romanie, you could double the recipe if you have double the cupcake pans and can bake at the same time since you don’t want to have half of the batter sitting too long before it is baked, otherwise, I would do 2 separate batches. Reply

I love your recipes – I’m excited to try this one here. Listen, I was wondering if you used to have a blue/green dessert recipe on your site that you possibly removed? It was for the Seahawks, and it looked delicious (that’s why primarily intrigued me, I’m not a big sports fan lol). I think they were cupcakes…? I have a faint memory of seeing it on your site – can you tell me if you do and where I can find it? I really hope I’m making sense. 🙂 Reply

natashaskitchen

May 15, 2016

Hi Darya, I’ve never had anything like what you are describing, sorry! You might scroll through my dessert category to double check but I don’t recall anything like that. Reply

No worries, I might just be thinking about something else and imagining it differently. I might have seen a super bowl dessert somewhere and thought it was you. 🙂 I’m sorry for the confusion. Reply

Prathitha

March 8, 2016

Hi Natasha!

Can i use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar and get the same result? And do you think I can increase the amount of coffee in the recipe to make the cupcakes a little more moist? Reply

natashaskitchen

March 8, 2016

I’m not sure how apple cider vinegar would work in this recipe or if the flavor would be off from using it. Without testing it myself, I can’t say for sure. I haven’t tested different amounts of coffee either so it will have to be an experiment, but coffee doesn’t usually affect how moist they are – it acts to amplify the flavor of the cocoa. Let me know how it goes! Reply

Anna

March 3, 2016

hi natasha! would i be able to not use cupcake liners but just spray the form with pam? Reply

natashaskitchen

March 3, 2016

I haven’t tried it that way, but I think it should work with the amount of oil in these cupcakes. Definitely use a non-stick cupcake pan. Reply

I just made these today and they were amazing!!! The cream cheese frosting compliments the cupcakes so beautifully because the cupcake itself isn’t so sweet! I love it and it definitely will be in my top 5 cupcake recipes! I will be referring this page on my blog! Thanks Natasha! Reply

I just can’t wait to try out this recipe! the cupcakes look simply perfect! but I have a couple of questions how can I make sure that the cupcakes are perfectly baked because I always have problems when it comes to baking and the second one what type of food coloring do you use? can I use Wilton food gel instead? Reply

Hey Natasha,
Can i make these a day in advance for the party? Or should I bake the cupcakes in advance and pipe the buttercream a few hours before the party? how long can the piped buttercream stay at room temperature? Reply

natashaskitchen

July 17, 2014

Nelli, you can make everything a day in advance and keep cupcakes refrigerated overnight. Buttercream can stay at room temperature for around 3 hours. Hope this helps :). Reply

How long can you keep these cupcakes once iced out of the fridge? I want to make it for my daughters 4th birthday to take to kindy. She will love them. Reply

natashaskitchen

May 12, 2014

It depends on the temperature they are going to be left in. If it’s room temp (about 70˚F), I have left them out up to 4 hours on the counter. Reply

colleen reinsmith

May 12, 2014

your cupcakes are beautiful….My daughter is getting married in august and wants cupcakes instead of cake. You don’t happen to sell these do you or would be interested in making 130 of them? Can’t hurt to ask…please let me know thank you!! Reply

natashaskitchen

May 12, 2014

Congratulations to your daughter! I’m flattered that you ask, but unfortunately I can’t commit to such a large project. I don’t do any catering currently. Between work and family and the blog; I’m up to my ears in things that keep me busy 🙂 But, thank you! Reply